It was a little intelligence gathering of his own that led to 188th Wing Col. Mark Anderson’s discovery of the importance of Microsoft PowerPoint in the unit’s new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and a partnership with the Fort Smith Adult Education Center.

While visiting 188th members in intelligence training school at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, Anderson asked the men and women what the leadership could do to better prepare them for training. The resounding answer was, “Get us experience with Microsoft Office programs,” said 2nd Lt. Aaron Wolfe, 188th conversion officer and liaison with the Adult Education Center.

“A lot of intelligence is briefing, and it’s almost always accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation … not much time is spent training on it in intelligence school,” Wolfe said.

For aircraft maintainers transitioning to the intelligence field, training on Microsoft Office programs wasn’t a high priority before now.

But between now and this fall, the Adult Education Center is offering 12-hour certification courses in PowerPoint, Access and Excel to all 188th members — both full-time and traditional National Guard — although the training is mandatory for those training for intelligence missions.

Wolfe said the Access (a database program) training is directed more at members who work in human resources, and Excel supplements the PowerPoint training, because spreadsheets are regularly inserted into PowerPoint presentations.

Senior Master Sgt. Jerry Goines, who was in aircraft maintenance for more than 20 years, said the training for a new mission made him a little nervous but even more excited, considering the doors it can open in Guard and when he retires.

Goines and Staff Sgt. Paul Smith both attended their first PowerPoint class Tuesday. Goines said he has some experience with the program, but no formal training before now, while Smith had some instruction on it in high school.

Linda McAdams, who’s teaching the PowerPoint class at the Adult Education Center, said several in the class already have some experience with PowerPoint, so the class is largely for refining skills.

McAdams, recently retired from Northside High School after 25 years in education, previously taught classes for displaced workers at AEC.

“This group (the 188th) is awesome to work with,” McAdams said. “Change is tough sometimes.”

Although military members bring expected discipline to the classroom, McAdams said, they also have confidence, something that understandably has to be instilled in some displaced workers who aren’t operating with the support like 188th members receive from their leadership.

Smith said the changes at the 188th made him nervous at first, but he still works with a lot of the same people while also getting to know new people, which helps ease the transition.

In addition to the classes at the Adult Education Center, Wolfe said, commanders in the individual elements of the 188th are also focusing on team-building activities for the men and women they supervise to create a balance between the technical side and human side of the 188th conversion.

Wolfe couldn’t stress enough just how important the partnership is to a successful transition, calling the Adult Education Center a key component.

“Their commitment to this mission and to the community is overwhelming,” Wolfe said. “We’re blessed to have them. It’s another example of the community buy-in (in support of the 188th).”